Italy’s highest court has overturned the conviction of a 60-year-old man for having sex with an 11-year-old girl, because the verdict failed to take into account their “amorous relationship”. Pietro Lamberti, a social services worker in Catanzaro in southern Italy, was convicted in February 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison for sexual acts with a minor :: Read the full article »»»»

British pop singer Ian Watkins, former frontman for the band Lostprophets, has pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of a baby and a string of other child sex offences.

Watkins, whose band sold millions of albums around the world and toured Australia last year with the Soundwave festival, plotted the abuse of two children with their own mothers in a series of text and internet messages.

The 36-year-old spoke of his desire to intoxicate one of his victims by blowing crystal meth smoke into the child’s face.

He made a last-minute change of plea before his trial started at Cardiff Crown Court in Wales today, sparing the jury from seeing what the judge called “extremely graphic and distressing” video footage :: Read the full article »»»»

66 Australians are among nearly 400 people arrested after Canadian authorities smashed what they say is one of the worst child sex abuse rings they’ve seen.

Canadian police say their investigation into a multi-million-dollar child sex abuse video website has led to the arrests of nearly 350 people internationally, including teachers, police officers, doctors and priests.

A total of 386 victims of the ring were rescued from harm worldwide, including six in Australia – five in Western Australia, and one in the ACT. The Australian suspects in the operation are aged between 25 and 72 and have been charged with a range of offences including accessing, possessing, producing and distributing online child exploitation material.

The Australian arrests included a Catholic priest, a former priest and two teachers, all from New South Wales. But Queensland is the state with the largest number of suspects, with 33 people facing charges :: Read the full article »»»»

Chemical castration is among the alternative sentencing options for child sex offenders being considered by a New South Wales parliamentary committee. The controversial option has been put forward by the Premier Barry O’Farrell.

The committee will investigate whether current sentencing is effective, in an effort to restore public confidence in the states legal system. The move comes after a man was given a non-custodial – three year good behaviour bond – sentence for raping his daughter.

Chemical castration is the administration of medication designed to reduce libido and sexual activity. Unlike surgical castration, where the testicles or ovaries are removed permanently, chemical castration does not actually castrate the person, nor is it a form of sterilization. In most cases the administration of chemical castration is an ongoing treatment.

Chemical castration is generally considered reversible when treatment is discontinued, or the patient ceases medicating. Dubbo MP Troy Grant, who is set to chair the committee, says there has been widespread discontent with the states sentencing regime for violent crimes :: Read the full article »»»»

There are more than just a few things wrong with this post, firstly – clearly – the nature of it is pretty off-putting, secondly, whats with all the paedaphiles in Adelaide? and thirdly, did this guy really say that?

Torsten Heggblum has been jailed for just 18 months for sharing child pornography online, despite arguing he was working to try help authorities stamp out child abuse. Heggblum, 46, admitted two child pornography charges in the Adelaide District Court.

Heggblum will be eligible to seek release from custody after serving 9 of his 18 month sentence.

Heggblum was among 11 Australian men charged in June last year by Australian Federal Police for exchanging images and videos of sexual abuse of children as young as five on an internet site. Police said the material included scenes of bondage, torture and rape.

Heggblum brazenly told the court he was motivated to download 1.3 million images and 11,000 videos found on his computers because he wanted to help authorities detect laboratories where children were being exploited. Judge Michael Boylan said Heggblum’s story was bizarre and jailed him.

Paedophile Andrew Lanxon Whitford has been jailed for just two years and nine months after being convicted of the distribution and possession of more than 30,000 items of child pornography.

A South Australian court was told that an undercover police officer made contact with Whitford through a P2P website the paedophile used to distribute his illegal material, soon after contact the police officer received child pornography material.

Adelaide District Court Judge Wayne Chivell, was told that Andrew Lanxon Whitford, 60, was arrested after police received a tip-off that Whitford was using a P2P web site to distribute his illegal material. The court was told Adelaide police seized his computer equipment and found an estimated 30,000 images and videos. Whitford pleaded guilty to aggravated disseminating and possessing child pornography.

In handing down his sentence, Judge Chivell said that he couldn’t understand how anyone could derive pleasure from such material.

“How any person can derive pleasure from viewing this material is beyond me,” Judge Chivell said. “Some of the child pornography material is of the worst kind. The offending was at the serious end of the spectrum. The offending occurred over a period of months and you did not cease voluntarily.”